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Just one more before I head to bed for the night (I want to be up in five hours to cover the tour at Croke Park).

Penn State players got a lesson in some of the Gaelic Games (Gaelic football and hurling) from some great athletes from the GAA on Thursday. Here’s a video of some of the fun they had. This is a group of linemen and, for some reason, Adrian Amos, doing some dribbling drills under the direction of a very into-it Gaelic football player.

One of the things I was hoping to do here in Dublin was see some of the sites and maybe write about some things that some of the readers who have never been here might at least like the read about. Dublin is a great city in a lot of ways. As James Franklin put it today, when you talk about American history, which is a great history, we’re talking a couple hundred years. In Ireland, it’s different than that. They had a long history here before our country ever existed.

The Jameson distillery is a small part of that history, of course, but it’s an interesting one, at that. Plenty of folks back in the states identify best with Ireland through Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, and always have. It was a really need experience this morning to visit the original distillery on Bow Street and get a sense at how this stuff was made at this site for 191 years.

Here’s a bit of a picture gallery I put together, along with just a bit of the fun information they gave away about Jameson’s here. If you’re ever in Dublin, make sure this is a stop for you.

To be honest with you, I probably shouldn’t be typing this right now. I got what might amount to three hours sleep last night. Left Clarks Summit for Newark at 2:15. Left Newark for Oslo, Norway at 8:05 p.m. Got to Oslo somewhere around 9 a.m., whatever time zone they’re in. Then got here, to my hotel in downtown Dublin, just about half an hour ago.

It has been a crazy 19 hours.

The next 72 are going to be just as crazy.

In about thee hours, Penn State will wind up its first practice since arriving in Dublin (which is amazing in itself because they beat me here by about an hour) and I’ll have a roundup of what the players and coach James Franklin thought of their trip and Saturday’s opener against Central Florida a little later. As always, we’ll go far more in depth on this game and the happenings around Dublin every day from now through Monday in the Times-Shamrock newspapers. So, pick up a copy.

A few notes before I take a quick nap and shower and then head on out to work.

- Penn State released its depth chart yesterday while I was making the trip to Newark. If you haven’t seen it, it was dotted with local stars:

Valley View product Nyeem Wartman, as expected, was listed as a starting outside linebacker. Also as anticipated, Wyoming Valley West’s Eugene Lewis is the starter at the X receiver.

Noah Beh, the true freshman from Scranton Prep, is third-string at left guard, though I still think it’s possible he’ll redshirt. Brian Tomasetti, a redshirt freshman from Old Forge, is listed as the fourth strong safety, and Berwick’s Zach Ladonis the third long snapper. But I’d guess the surprise of the bunch would be the true freshman walk-on Joey Holmes of Scranton Prep making the depth chart at all so quickly. He’s fourth at defensive tackle, behind Austin Johnson, Parker Cothren and Tarow Barney.

- Biggest news on the depth chart clearly was the backup quarterback spot going to true freshman Chase McSorley, and not the more heralded prospect, fellow true freshman Michael O’Connor. McSorley was said to be having a big camp, and obviously, that has manifested itself.

- Oslo airport looks like a ski lodge. You have to see this place. Hardwood floors. Everything made of wood, including the desks. Quite a place. I recommend visiting Oslo, if only for the airport. (Hey, I was only there for an hour, but the people were very nice in that hour!)

- Here’s my “You’re not in Scranton anymore” moment: I’ve never been out of North America until today, and even at that, haven’t been more than a time zone away to either the east or west. But I’ll be honest, I thought I was having a pretty easy time adjusting to the time difference until I got to Oslo. I went to check my phone to see if I could get a Yankees score from last night. And that’s when I noticed that, as I sat in Norway, the sun beating down, eating breakfast, ready to attack my day, Madison Bumgarner of the Giants was working on a one-hitter. Yep, working. As in, actively pitching it. The West Coast baseball games had not yet concluded.

- Nothing on the docket for Penn State tonight other than practice. Tomorrow, though, they’ll be treated to dinner at the Guinness Storehouse. On the walk to the hotel from the bus stop, about 10 minutes, I saw three black vans that had “Guinness Quality Control” on the side. These are men doing fine work.

In case you’ve been living under, well, a glacier the last few days, you know the developing sidebar with the Croke Park Classic is what may be going on in Iceland over the next few days.

Bardarbunga, a sub-glacial stratovolcano located beneath Iceland’s largest glacial mass, is showing signs it potentially could erupt — although even experts say they’ll only get a few hours notice when. But if it does blow, it could send volcanic ask miles into the sky and significantly disrupt air travel to northern Europe.

That includes Ireland, of course, where Penn State and Central Florida are scheduled to open the season in the Croke Park Classic on Aug. 30. Authorities in Iceland, where they’re used to monitoring volcanic activity on a daily basis because there are just so many volcanoes dotting the landscape, have evacuated 500 residents and tourists north of Bardarbunga. Airlines that serve northern Europe were warned several days ago that increased seismic activity in the area could lead to an eruption. About 1,000 earthquakes in the Bardarbunga region were detected Wednesday alone.

OK, so what does a volcano erupting in Iceland have to do with Ireland, which is 900 miles to the south?

Congratulations are in order for Penn State quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Ricky Rahne.

His alma mater, Cornell University, is inducting him into its Athletic Hall of Fame on Nov. 11.

Rahne graduated from Cornell in 2002 after a record-setting career as a three-year starting quarterback for the Big Red from 1999-2001. He broke 33 Cornell passing and total offense records, throwing for a career record 7,710 yards, which still stands as the fourth-best total in Ivy League history. He also held the school record for completions (678), touchdown passes (54), 200-yard games (25) and total offense (7,994). He still ranks second in each of those areas.

“A year ago, I was playing NFL football,” the 30-year-old said. “I’ve recently been diagnosed with ALS. I’m here today to stand up and fight with all of you against this disease.”

Shaw may be the most underrated linebacker produced by Penn State in the 2000s, a productive player in the shadow of Paul Posluszny, Dan Connor and NaVorro Bowman. He went on to a really strong career in the NFL, most notably with the Titans and the Bears. Above all, he’s a good man. A very good man.

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